Aklilu Dalelo/Till Stellmacher
Faith-based Organisations in Ethiopia
The Contribution of the Kale Heywet Church to Rural Schooling, Ecological Balance
and Food Security
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Inhalt
Acknowledgements . . . 9
About the authors . . . 11
List of Tables . . . 13
List of Figures . . . 15
List of Acronyms . . . 17
1. Introduction . . . 19
1.1. Faith-based Organizations and the Genesis of Modern Education . 19 1.2. Why Ecological Balance? . . . 20
1.3. Why Concern about Food Security? . . . 23
1.4. Rationale and Objectives of the Study . . . 27
1.5. Methodology . . . 27
1.6. Organisation of the Research Report . . . 30
2. Ethiopia: Biophysical and Socio-economic Conditions . . . 31
2.1. The Biophysical Environment . . . 31
2.2. Socio-economic Environment . . . 32
2.3. Developments in the Educational Sector . . . 35
2.4. Food Insecurity in Ethiopia . . . 37
2.4.1. Causes of Food Insecurity . . . 41
2.4.2. Consequences of Food Insecurity and Famine . . . 44
2.5. The Ethiopian Food Security Strategy . . . 46
2.6. The Case Study Areas . . . 48
2.6.1. Kembata Tembaro zone and Alaba Liyu Wereda . . . 48
2.6.2. Adaa Liben Wereda . . . 52
3. Faith-based Organisations and Development . . . 55
3.1. Perspectives on Faith and Development . . . 55
3.2. Factors Enhancing FBOs’ Contributions . . . 56
3.2.1. A Clear and Accommodative Mission . . . 56
3.2.2. A Conducive International Atmosphere . . . 59
3.3. The Major Christian FBOs in Ethiopia . . . 60
3.3.1. Background . . . 60
3.3.2. The Early Missionaries . . . 61
3.3.3. Current Role of Evangelical Churches . . . 62
3.4. The Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church . . . 64
3.4.1. Background . . . 64
3.4.2. Educational Services of the EKHC . . . 64
3.4.3. Current Situation and Future Direction . . . 66
4. Faith, Ecological Balance and Food Security: Survey Findings . . . . 69
4.1. Interviewees’ Profile . . . 69
4.2. Views on the Human Impact on the Environment . . . 70
4.3. Views on the Link between Environmental Protection and Food Security . . . 71
4.4. Views on Causes of Food Insecurity . . . 73
4.5. Views on Strenghts and Special Contributions of FBOs . . . 76
4.6. Views on Weaknesses of FBOs . . . 77
4.7. Views on Evangelicals and Work Ethics . . . 78
4.8. Concluding Remarks . . . 80
5. Case Study One: Empowering Schools to Address Ecological Balance . 83 5.1. Background . . . 83
5.2. The Project Schools . . . 84
5.3. Project Outcomes and Impacts . . . 85
5.3.1. Preparation of a Handbook and Conducting In-service Training . . . 85
5.3.2. Establishment of Environmental Clubs . . . 87
5.3.3. Development of School Nurseries . . . 90
5.3.4. Dissemination of Alternative Energy Technologies . . . 90
6. Case Study Two: Improving Access to Education . . . 95
6.1. Background . . . 95
6.2. Key Objectives and Beneficiaries . . . 96
6.3. Major Achievements . . . 96
7. Case Study Three: Help a Child . . . 103
7.1. Background . . . 103
7.2. EKHC Children’s Services . . . 106
7.3. The Kuriftu Children’s Home . . . 107
7.4. Community-Based Child Sponsorship . . . 109
7.5. A Turning Point in the EKHC-ReK Partnership . . . 111
7.6. Concluding Remarks . . . 114
8. Case Study Four: Transforming Theological Schooling . . . 115
8.1. Background . . . 115
8.2. An Untapped Resource . . . 116
8.3. Situation before the Integration Efforts . . . 116
8.4. Integration of Development Education . . . 117
8.5. Community Development at ETC . . . 120
8.6. Concluding Remarks . . . 122
9. Concluding Summary and Way Forward . . . 125
9.1. Concluding Summary . . . 125
9.2. The Way Forward . . . 127
References . . . 129
Appendix I . . . 135
Inhalt 7
Acknowledgements
This study benefited from the support of many organisations and individuals.
The idea to conduct research on the contributions of faith-based organisations to education and sustainable development with a focus on ecological balance and food security in Ethiopia was conceived when Dr. Aklilu Dalelo served as a technical advisor for the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church (EKHC) Development Programme. The advisory service was made possible by the financial assistance of the Evangelische Entwicklungsdienst (EED) in Germany. Thanks and ap- preciation therefore go to the EKHC and EED. We would also like to thank Dr.
Tesfaye Yacob, the then EKHC General Secretary, for his interest in the research and sustained encouragement throughout the entire process. Dr. Aklilu Dalelo and Dr. Till Stellmacher are grateful to Mr. Tefera Talore, Head of the Training Department at the EKHC, who supported the data gathering and processing. We are also greatly indebted to the key informants and others who gave information at different phases of the study.
The Center for Development Research (ZEF) at the University of Bonn allo- cated a variety of infrastructural and intellectual services and facilities to realise this work. Our heartfelt gratitude therefore goes to Professor Dr. Solvay Gerke, Director of the ZEF Department of Political and Cultural Change. The resource centre of the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS), UK, has also been helpful. We would hence like to express our thanks to the staff of OCMS and Professor Deryke Belshaw, for their useful comments during the stay of Dr.
Aklilu Delelo at OCMS. Likewise, the Human Needs and Global Resources Program (HNGR) of Wheaton College, USA, supported the field research by availing resources and office spaces. Our deepest gratitude goes to the staff of the HNGR Program and Department of Politics and International Relations. Pro- fessors Paul Robinson and Sandra Joireman made Dr. Aklilu Delelo’s stay at Wheaton not only fruitful but also very enjoyable.
Two scholars reviewed the research report, Dr. Zemede Asfaw and Professor Ensermu Kelbessa, both from the Faculty of Science, Addis Ababa University. We would like to thank them for their critical and valuable comments.
Many institutions contributed financially to this study. The EED Scholarship Desk took responsibility for travel and research costs as well as costs related to review and publication. Our special thanks are due to Mrs Susanne Werner of the EED Scholarship Desk for doing much more than what her official responsibility required. The research within Ethiopia was mainly supported by the EKHC and Red een Kind (ReK), the Netherlands. Dr. Aklilu Delelo’s stay at Wheaton College was sponsored by the HNGR Program, Wheaton College. We thank you all. Dr.
Aklilu Dalelo has been greatly supported by the consistent encouragement of his wife, Tigist Tesfaye, and their children Elelta and Kranz. Dr. Till Stellmacher would like to thank his family for their partience and support throughout the writing of this book.
Dr. Aklilu Dalelo and Dr. Till Stellmacher August 2012, Addis Ababa and Bonn
About the authors
Dr Aklilu Dalelo is an Assistant Professor of Geography and Environmental Education at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He is a geographer by training with a particular interest in environmental and sustainability education. Dr Aklilu made an extensive research over the past fifteen years mainly in energy and environmental education; and published more than ten articles in reputable national and international journals. He also wrote a book entitled “Environment and Sustainability in Ethiopian Education System: A Longitudinal Analysis”.
Currently, he is an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow at the Institute of Environmental and Sustainability Communication, Faculty of Sustainability Sciences; University of Luneburg, Germany.
Email: akliludw@gmail.com; dalelowa@leuphana.de
Dr Till Stellmacher is a Senior Researcher at the Center for Development Re- search (ZEF), Germany. He studied Geography and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Bonn, Germany, and the University of Manchester, UK. For the last 10 years Dr Stellmacher worked extensively on natural resource management and conservation, governance, and the transformation of smallholder agri- culture. His geographical focus is rural Ethiopia. Beyond he conducted research in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Nicaragua, India, the Ivory Coast and Tanzania. Dr Stellmacher serves as a lecturer at Addis Ababa University and the University of Bonn. Since 2011 he also works as a trainer for the GIZ.
E-mail: t.stellmacher@uni-bonn.de
List of Tables
Table 2.1: Population affected by food shortage: 1973/74–2000/01
Table 2.2: Average number of people affected over the last two-and-a-half decades Table 2.3: Domestic production and food aid in Ethiopia
Table 2.4: Classification of food-insecure households in Ethiopia Table 2.5: Total budget and food aid in Ethiopia
Table 3.1: Models that explain approaches to development and other religious activities Table 3.2: Enrolment in non-state schools (1968)
Table 3.3: Distribution of Evangelical churches by region Table 4.1: Participants’ area of services
Table 4.2: Participants’ level of education
Table 4.3: Participants’ views about man’s impact on nature
Table 4.4: Depth of analysis on the relationship between environmental protection and food security
Table 4.5: Causes of food insecurity
Table 4.6: Participants’ views about aspects of food security Table 4.7: Strengths and special contributions of FBOs Table 4.8: Major weaknesses of FBOs
Table 5.1: Distribution of primary schools byWereda, 2005 Table 5.2: Environmental clubs establishment and membership Table 6.1: Education centre construction
Table 6.2: Enrolment Table 6.3: Teachers’ profile
Table 7.1: Educational level of the children at Kuriftu Home (as of 2003) Table 7.2: Children graduated from colleges as of 2009
Table 7.3: Number and grade level of children supported through ReK in Babogaya Table 7.4: Enrolment by region
Table 8.1: Number of directors and teachers trained and teaching materials prepared
List of Figures
Fig. 1.1: Location of management offices of case study projects
Fig. 2.1: Framework for analysis of famine causation and the appropriate responses Fig. 2.2: Larger scale map of the studyWeredas
Fig. 2.3: Enset plantation in Angacha Wereda Fig. 2.4: House threatened by soil erosion Fig. 2.5: Eucalypt plantation
Fig. 5.1: A teacher showing a tree planted in his school compound Fig. 5.2: A solar home system being installed
Fig. 5.3: A solar cooker Fig. 5.4: A solar drier
Fig. 5.5: An improved cooking stove called ‘Mirt’
Fig. 6.1: A typical basic education centre
Fig. 6.2: Additional classrooms constructed fully by the community
Fig. 6.3: Children showed up even before the completion of the education centres Fig. 6.4: Teachers’ training
Fig. 7.1: Children in a village basic education centre, southern Ethiopia
Fig. 7.2: Some of the students at Kuriftu centre celebrating the graduation of their long- time friends
Fig. 7.3: Girls enrolled in one of the basic education centres in Alaba Wereda, SNNPR Fig. 8.1: Community Development Programme students attend a class on improved
stoves
Fig. 8.2: Community development students demonstrating the use of an improved cooking stove
Fig. 8.3: Community development students demonstrating the use of a bio-sand water filter
List of Acronyms
ADLI Agricultural development-led industrialisation ALW Alaba LiyuWereda
CaBCEP Capacity Building and Community Empowerment Program CBCS Community-based Child Sponsorship
CBO Community-based Organisation CCCD Childcare and Community Development CCFC Christian Children’s Fund of Canada CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CRDA Christian Relief and Development Association CSA Central Statistical Agency
CSO Civil Society Organisation
DICAC Development and Inter-church Aid Commission DPPC Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission DTRC Demographic Training and Research Centre ECA Economic Commission for Africa
EEA Ethiopian Economic Association
EECF Ethiopian Evangelical Church’s Fellowship EECMY Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekaneyesus EED Evangelisher Entwicklungsdienst
EKHC Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church EOC Ethiopian Orthodox Church
EOTC Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church
EPRDF Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front ETC Evangelical Theological College
FAO Food and Agricultural Organisation FBO Faith-based Organisation
FGM Female Genital Mutilation GDP Gross Domestic Product GMD Gospel Ministry Department HNGR Human Needs and Global Resources IDCoF International Development Consulting Form IDR Institute of Development Research
IEC International Evangelical Church
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change KNH Kindernothilfe
KT Kembata Tembaro
MoFED Ministry of Finance and Economic Development MOLSA Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
NCA Norwegian Church AID NCFS New Coalition on Food Security NGO Nongovernmental Organisation OCMS Oxford Centre for Mission Studies
PASDEP Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty ReK Red een Kind
SHS Solar Home System
SIM Sudan Interior Mission (now renamed Serving in Mission) SNNPR Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences
TTS Teacher Training School
WCED World Commission on Environment and Development ZEF Centre for Development Research, Bonn
1. Introduction
1.1. Faith-based Organizations and the Genesis of Modern Education
The history of education in Ethiopia is inextricably related to churches and mosques. The Ethiopian Coptic Orthodox Church developed “an elementary system of education, which served not only the needs of the Church itself, but also the cultural needs of society in general” (Markakis, 1974:143). Sirgiw Gelaw (2007) shares this view and further reinforces it:
In the area of Education, the EOTC [Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church] served as the major centre of education from the time of its establishment until the beginning of the 20thcentury. The intellectuals of the EOTC had been dedicating their lives to serving the church and providing free education to its followers. They devoted their lives to teaching in the daytime and praying during the night in the service of their country and God. The existing literature, paintings, art, music, Qene, law and traditional medicines are all products of their educational endeavours (Sirgiw Gelaw, 2007:22).
Ethiopian Coptic Orthodox Church schools were originally created in Ethiopia to serve communities of believers, to instruct children in Christian principles and literature and to impart them with church rituals, prayers and hymns (Pankhurst, quoted in Hailu, 1975:145). This way, the Ethiopian Coptic Ortho- dox Church has had a great part in influencing and shaping what is believed today to be the Ethiopian culture. Before the revolution in 1974, the Ethiopian Coptic Church was running two kinds of schools. On the one hand was the modernised church school system based on a curriculum developed by the Ministry of Education, while on the other hand was a school system that strictly followed the traditional syllabus (Hailu, 1975:146).
The Missionary Societies
Beside the Ethiopian Coptic Orthodox Church, the Protestant Church also played a historically significant role in educational development in Ethiopia.
Protestant missionary societies established and managed large numbers of schools throughout the country until the 1974 revolution. One such society, which played a remarkable role in the education and health sector, was the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM, now called Serving in Mission). Atkins (2003:np) reports that “SIM and EKHC [Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church] had the largest private school system in the country”, as a result of which “the Ministry of Education asked SIM to be responsible for the distribution of government textbooks to all protestant schools” throughout the country.
In a document produced as part of the event to commemorate the 75than- niversary of the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church (EKHC), Atkins recalls that “Dr.
Peter Cotterell, SIM Bible School Coordinator, developed a system for teaching the Amharic language, which was so successful that it was adopted by the Ministry of Education for use in their adult literacy program”. What is more, a Teacher Training School (TTS) was established in Wondo to address the in- creasing need for better educated Ethiopian teachers. The Wondo TTS was visited by Emperor Haile Selassi I in 1963. Atkins also shows that there was fierce opposition against mission education. Some government officials did not allow missionaries to establish schools out of the compounds. Mr. Gilen Cain, the then Director of the SIM in Ethiopia, “took the matter to Emperor Haile Selassie I, who ordered the Ministry of Education to allow all registered organisations to have schools throughout the country” (Atkins, 2003:np). The advance into secondary education was moving ahead well when Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam’s communistic inspired government closed all the SIM stations in 1975 and all educational activities of SIM were overtaken by the congregations of the EKHC.
The above introduction shows that faith-based organisations made note- worthy contributions to the genesis and development of modern education in Ethiopia. This study aims to answer questions about their current contribution and role.
1.2. Why Ecological Balance?
The End of the 20th century saw a great deal of academic debates on the impact of human interventions on their natural environment. There is now a widespread understanding that quality and quantity of natural environments has deterio- rated worldwide, mainly due to overuse and/or misuse by human beings. Cli- mate change, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, and desertification are key challenges of our time. A report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007, for example, asserts that “global increases in carbon dioxide concentrations are due primarily to fossil fuels use and land-use change” (IPCC, 2007:2).
An ecological balance
Among the major characteristics of ecosystems is their capacity to maintain a steady state, or equilibrium (balance). An ecological balance refers to a state of dynamic equilibrium within a community of organisms in which genetic species and ecosystem diversity remain relatively stable, subject to gradual changes through natural succession. Conservation of life maintains such a balance, for example through biogeochemical cycles, food chains, or population control (Purohit and Agrawal, 2005). Population explosions are seldom seen in natural ecosystems because of stabilising biotic and abiotic factors, a process often re- ferred to as ecological or environmental resistance (Wright and Nebel, 2002:84).
Ecosystems also tend to maintaintheir functioning through external disturbances.
Wright and Nebel (2002:101) show that there are situations where “disturbances and shifting biotic relationships not only […] have little detrimental effects on an ecosystem, but may actually contribute to its ongoing functioning”. This is what ecologists refer to as ecological or environmental resilience.
Limits to ecological resilience
Golley (1999) argues that the capacity of ecological systems to withstand human interventions is not clearly understood. Wright and Nebel (2002:101) shows manifold limits of ecosystem resilience. Golley (1999:236) underscores that “[i]f we have vital needs and cannot appeal to a clear and concise measure of the capacity of ecosystems to withstand human demand, then the control of demand must come from within humans”. The past decades show, however, a continuous increase of human interventions and impacts on ecological systems, thereby causing increasing ecological imbalances. An ecological imbalance is considered a common denominator underlying most problems associated with the ways humans use and manage their environment.
Humans as the principal culprits and victims of ecological imbalance
Ecosystems provide people with a variety of ecological functions and services1 (see for example Anderson et al., 2006; Cunningham and Cunningham, 2008;
Jialin et al., 2009). They provide fertile fields, pollinate crops and provide pure 1 Ecosystem functions refer to the habitat, biological or system properties or processes of ecosystems, whereas ecosystem service refers to the life supporting products and services directly or indirectly obtained through the structures, processes and functions of the eco- system (Jialin et al., 2009:542).
Why Ecological Balance? 21
air to breathe and water to drink. Moreover, ecosystems transform and utilise parts of the waste produced by humans. Human impacts on the environment therefore create a boomerang effect in which humans increasingly become victims of their own making. Despite the technical changes that have taken place in many parts of the world over the last two centuries, “humans remain bio- logical creatures who are undeniably part of ecological cycles” (Anderson et al., 2006:10).
Ecological functions and services remain absolutely necessary for human society in general and the rural poor in particular. People in more developed counties use proportionally more ecosystem services than those in less devel- oped countries. However, livelihoods of the rural poor in less developed coun- tries most directly depend on ecological services, e.g. to provide for subsistence agriculture, grazing, harvesting, hunting or fishing. Where there is limited ac- cess to infrastructure that provides safe drinking water, electricity or fuel, people particularly rely on natural services to meet their basic needs. One of the most basic human needs is food. Terrestrial and marine ecosystem services are one prerequisite to achieve food security in rural areas of less developed countries.
However, increasing ecological imbalance contributes to pervasive poverty and food insecurity in these areas.
A desperate call
Sustainable development is currently high on the agenda of policy makers, scholars and media worldwide (see for example Anderson et al., 2006; Cun- ningham and Cunningham, 2008). The need for sustainable development has also been echoed by Faith-based Organisations (FBOs)2 including the World Evangelical Fellowship Theological Commission. The Commission has em- phatically underlined that “[w]e affirm the concept of sustainable development, as that which seeks to provide an environment that promotes a life of dignity and well-being compatible with the continuation and integrity of supporting eco- systems” (EFTC, 1999:350). A similar suggestion was made to “measure devel- opment by its ability to sustain healthy and dignified standards of living without excessive destruction or abuse of people and ecosystems” (Tsele, 2001:207).
Bragg writes in his book “The Church in Response to Human Need” that unless
“we seek development through ‘gentle’ technology that works with nature in- stead of abusing it, our grandchildren will live (if they can) in a much less hospitable world depleted of nonrenewable resources and choked by our own wastes” (Bragg, 1987:46).
2 In this work FBOs are understood to be formal entities established by people who share the same faith in order to achieve certain defined objectives.
1.3. Why Concern about Food Security?
Changes in the physical environment in general, and the currently increasing problem of climate change in particular, can have serious repercussions on the four dimensions of food security, namely food availability, food accessibility, food utilisation and food system stability (FAO, 2008). Climate change has, for instance, a direct impact on biophysical factors such as plant and animal growth, water cycles, biodiversity and nutrient cycling, and the ways in which these are managed through agricultural practices and land use for food production (FAO, 2008:11 –12). Climate change can also affect physical/human capital – such as roads, storage and marketing infrastructure, houses, productive assets, elec- tricity grids and human health – which indirectly changes the economic and socio-political factors that govern food access and utilisation and can threaten the stability of food systems.
Food security is only established “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO, 1996, quoted in Cavalcanti, 2005:152). Food sufficiency indicates enough food with the correct amount of calories, whereas access marks the ability of households to take command over these supplies through production, exchange or transfer. Food security thus includes the supply of food (food availability) via increasing the purchasing power of poor people, as well as the provision of social protection for the poor via safety nets or similar programmes (Tassew Woldehanna, 2004).
Food availability can be increased via domestic supply (increased agricultural production), commercial import or food aid from abroad.
At this juncture, it is important to underline that the availability of food in a certain area, however, tells us very little about household food security. The distinction made between food shortage, food poverty and food deprivation seems to give a better insight into the problem of food insecurity at household level (DeRose et al., 1998). According to DeRose et al., hunger “is produced when need outstrips food availability, but the determinants of both need and avail- ability are complex: they are controlled by forces both proximate to and quite remote from the individual they affect” (DeRose et al., 1998:2). In the case of food shortage, food supplies within some bounded region (such as a district) fall below the amount needed by the region’s population. In the case of food poverty, a household will be unable to obtain enough food to meet the needs of its members. In the case of food deprivation, the nutrients consumed by an in- dividual in a household fall below what he or she needs.
DeRose et al. (1998) further argue that the aforementioned three situations are causally linked, without offering a simple cause-effect pattern. One of the pos- sible reasons for food deprivation is food poverty, and one of the reasons for
Why Concern about Food Security? 23
food poverty is food shortage. The simplest equation says that if there is not enough food in the region, some households will not have enough; if there is not enough food in the household, some members will go hungry. However, some households in areas of food shortage are more than adequately provisioned, while some households in non-food shortage areas are not able to meet their members’ needs. There are households even in the most economically advanced countries that cannot fully satisfy their food requirements. It is thus “evident that household food security is not assured by increased food supplies alone, but also by the pattern of income distribution and access to such supplies” (Fassil G.
Kiros, 2005:4–5).
Ethiopia as a hunger hotspot
The 2005 assessment report on the world food security situation (published by the Committee on Food Security of Food and Agricultural Organisation) states that the number of countries facing serious food shortages throughout the world – so-called ‘hunger hotspots’ – stood at 36 as of March 2005, with 23 in Africa, seven in Asia /Near East, five in Latin America and one in Europe (FAO 2005, quoted in Cavalcanti, 2005:156). According to the report, a “particular concern is reserved for Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, Guyana, Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine”. In view of the present study, three points from this report are worth emphasising. First, 64 per cent of the countries with severe food shortage are found in Africa. Second, three of the five neighbours of Ethiopia fall under the category of countries that cause particular concern. Third, Ethiopia has not been included in the list of countries that cause particular concern. Is Ethiopia therefore in a better position than neighbouring Eritrea, Sudan and Kenya? The answer seems ‘No.’
Food insecurity in Ethiopia
Food poverty incidence in Ethiopia is about 50 per cent at national level, 37 per cent in urban areas and 52 per cent in rural areas (Workneh Negatu, 2008:1). For decades, the country has depended on food aid from abroad in an attempt to fill the deficit. Indeed, there were times when food aid amounted to one-quarter of the total food grains consumed in the country (Tassew Woldehanna, 2004:40).
As a result, the name, Ethiopia, is to a large degree associated with food shortages and famine (see, for example, Box 1.1).
Box 1.1: Ethiopia’s food aid addiction
Like a patient addicted to painkillers, Ethiopia seems hooked on aid. For most of the past three decades, it has survived on millions of tonnes of donated food and millions of dollars in cash. It has received more emer- gency support than any other African nation in that time. Its population is increasing by 2 m every year, yet over the past 10 years its net agricultural production has steadily declined. Even in good years, some 5 m people need food aid just to survive. Ethiopia is so poor that it takes one bad rainy season to tip millions more into crisis. But like any addict, Ethiopia seems to have taken the first step towards recovery by recognizing that there is a problem.
Source: Greste, 2006
Food insecurity in Ethiopia is predominantly chronic in nature. There are households that cannot meet their food needs in any given year, regardless of climatic variables or other external and internal shocks. Chronically food-in- secure households in the country include mainly those who are landless /land- scarce, oxen-less, pastoral, female headed, elderly, disabled and sick, new set- tlers, non-agricultural poor households and low-income urban households (Workneh Negatu, 2008:1). It should also be noted here that decades of food aid distribution have not substantially improved their nutritional or economic status.
Faith-based organizations and food insecurity in Ethiopia
The last three decades have seen continuous attempts by international gov- ernmental and NGOs to fight the problem of food insecurity in Ethiopia.
Ethiopian and international FBOs have also been playing their part to help breaking the vicious cycle of food insecurity, environmental degradation and poverty. Most FBOs in Ethiopia have a long tradition of fighting food insecurity, mostly through their social or wholistic services (ministries)3, and consider such activities an integral part of their mission. Some scholars see the work of FBOs in antagonism to capitalism in the sense that “without religion as its base, devel- opment will be reduced to an appendage of capitalist ideology and, therefore, will not offer much to the poor in Africa” (Tsele, 2001:205).
3 Most Evangelical denominations in Ethiopia are composed of local churches or congregations.
Each congregation has services divided into what they call ‘ministries’ (examples include the Evangelism ministry, the children ministry, the women ministry, the social ministry, and the development ministry).
Why Concern about Food Security? 25
The role of Ethiopian FBOs during the famines in the 1970s and 1980s has been well documented (see details in Chapter Four). Grassroots initiatives re- lated mainly to relief and rehabilitation activities were, for instance, conjointly directed by church organisations and regional drought committees. The churches (mostly Orthodox, Lutheran, Baptist, and Catholic) were “coordinated in their relief activities by the Christian Relief and Development Organisation”
(Webb et al., 1992:95). Many FBOs served as local grassroots ‘outlets’ for in- ternational donors including philanthropic organizations (e.g. Band Aid) using their structural advantage due to their extended and multiple human, technical and institutional capacities at grassroots level.
Diesen and Walker (1999) stress the difficultly to describe the role of NGO activities in Ethiopia mainly due to the paucity of systematic studies conducted in the country. Belshaw (2006) underscored the need for empirical research on FBO’s local work in Ethiopia. With regard to such a need, Fassil highlights that it is “never too late to begin to build the valuable tradition of learning from the past and instituting systems for distilling lessons of experience and for their retrieval to serve as the basis for planning of future development” (Fassil G. Kiros, 2005:172). Belshaw also stresses that “[s]ince a statistically reliable survey of both coverage and quality of Christian development impacts is not available, this deserves the highest priority for research attention in the context of growing opportunities and responsibilities available for the church to renew its historical pro-poor wholistic mission” (Belshaw, 2002:140). Such data, according to the above cited writers, can help better discuss the contributions of FBO activities in Ethiopia and encourage them to take a critical look at their own work (Abiy Hailu, 2004).
Amazingly little empirical research has been conducted on local work of FBOs in Ethiopia so far. Goyder and Wiegboldus (2006) did a study on emergency relief programmes implemented by four FBOs.4In 2003 Aklilu Dalelo published a study titled “The Church and Socio-economic Transformation” which basi- cally focuses on the EKHC Development Programme.
4 Goyder and Wiegboldus (2006:3–4) indicate that emergency relief programmes implemented by four FBOs in Ethiopia have been effective in helping to reduce short-term food access of target communities, and have mostly been efficient in using funds to provide the maximum benefit for target communities given the chosen intervention activities and available capacity.
In terms of impact and sustainability, however, the programmes did not have a direct effect.
1.4. Rationale and Objectives of the Study
This study addresses the shortage of research on the role of FBOs in Ethiopia in general and the role of the EKHC in education and sustainable development in particular and aims to contribute to the current debate within EKHC, in other FBOs, among development practitioners and scholars on these issues. The study was motivated by a desire to find out the contributions of FBOs in Ethiopia in their efforts to improve education and sustainable development with a focus on ecological balance and food security. FBOs in general have an enormous po- tential to reach the poor living in the remotest rural parts of less developed countries where government structures and facilities are often weak or even nonexistent. The Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church alone has more than 7,000 local churches spread throughout the country. Imagine the a potential of establishing 7,000 primary schools by mobilising these local churches. If each of the schools would enrol about 200 children, a total of 1.4 million children could get access to primary formal education.
The EKHC has been engaged for decades now in activities directly and in- directly related to educational development and ecological balance. However, no comprehensive study has been conducted so far to determine the outcomes and impacts of their interventions. The principal aim of the present study is hence to assess the potential and actual impacts of interventions undertaken by the EKHC with regard to educational development and ecological balance. Food security will be as a cross-cutting issue.
The study seeks to achieve the following specific objectives:
- to empirically assess the local activities and achievements of the EKHC in Ethiopia with regard to improving education and sustainable development with a focus on ecological balance and food security, and
- to discuss, based on these findings, measures that could enhance local ca- pacities and effectiveness of FBOs in Ethiopia.
1.5. Methodology
The work follows cross-sectional and case study approaches. A triangulation of methods and sources has been used to diversify and validate sources of in- formation. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used, as described in the following section.
Methodology 27
A. Document analysis
Secondary literature and internal documents of EKHC have been analysed to generate a current and comprehensive understanding on the work of FBOs in Ethiopia. Many organizations helped with providing secondary literature, namely the Center for Development Research (ZEF), Germany; the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS), UK; the Human Needs and Global Re- sources (HNGR) Program, Wheaton College, USA; the Institute of Development Research (IDR), Ethiopia; and the Christian Relief and Development Association (CRDA), Ethiopia.
B. Survey with EKHC decision makers
A total of 206 EKHC decision makers from throughout Ethiopia were surveyed.
In total 52 out of the 83 EKHC districts are represented. Given the vast geo- graphic area of Ethiopia, this is quite a significant representation. Most of the participants were surveyed before or after regular meetings or training sessions.
In some cases, the questionnaires were circulated by change agents (people hired to facilitate the process of leadership and ministry5transformation). The deci- sion makers’ survey was conducted from February to June 2007.
A comprehensive questionnaire (see Appendix I) was used for the survey. It has four sections, the first of which deals with general information about the participants (their sex, place of work, type of work/ministry, level of education).
The second section is aimed at examining their knowledge of and views about the relationship between environmental protection and food security; causes of food insecurity; contributions of faith and religion6to socio-economic devel- opment; strengths and weaknesses of faith-based organisations and the state of the relationship between Ethiopian Evangelical churches and the Ethiopian government. The third section is meant to gather more specific information on practical activities at the grassroots level. Included in this section are issues such as the key values local churches want to inculcate into their followers; types of social/development services/ministries undertaken by local churches; strat- egies to obtain required resources; the state of advocacy work and whether it is 5 The term ‘ministry’ in this study refers to services members give in their local churches such as preaching, teaching, social services, development work, etc. Some local churches have more than fifteen such ministries.
6 The term ‘faith’ in this context refers to a trusting belief in a Supreme Being. In Christianity faith is based on the work and teaching of Jesus Christ. The term ‘religion’ is considered as a set of ideas, values, experiences and attitudes. People who share these ideas, values, expe- riences and attitudes come together to form a religious group.
easy or difficult to carry out development work in their areas. The last part of the questionnaire has an attitude scale composed of 37 statements. The scale is meant to measure the tendency of EKHC leaders and staff working in the de- velopment programmes regarding the relationship between spiritual and social/development activities carried out by their particular church. The scale was designed based mainly on models that show how FBOs deploy faith through social or political engagement (Geest, 1993; Clark, 2005). The data of the survey was processed using SPSS.
The draft version of the questionnaire was pilot tested. People with a similar profile to those who would complete the final version of the questionnaire were first asked to complete the questionnaire and then to comment on its effec- tiveness. Twelve experts and practitioners working in community development were then asked to examine critically the quality of the questionnaire.
C. Programme /project case studies
Four EKHC programmes /projects related to educational development and ecological balance were assessed on case study bases (Fig. 1.1). These are:
1. a school capacity building project, which operates in the SNNPR region with its management office located in Awassa town,
2. an alternative basic education project, which operates in SNNPR and Or- omiya regions with its management office located in Alaba town,
3. the Kuriftu children’s care project, which operates in the Oromiya region with its management office located in Debrezeit town, and
4. a project on integration of environmental and development education into the curricula for bible schools and theological colleges. This project is im- plemented in different parts of Ethiopia and coordinated by the EKHC Training Department, whose office is located in Addis Ababa.
A large number of project proposals, progress reports, monitoring and evalu- ation reports, correspondences with donors and government offices, etc. were studied in order to examine the projects’ activities, achievements and limi- tations. Additional field surveys were conducted in the programme/project areas between February and June 2007. During these field surveys, focus group discussions were conducted with a total of 70 people. The groups of people participated at the focus group discussions, namely :
- community and religious leaders, - school administrators and teachers, and - beneficiaries of the different projects.
Methodology 29
1.6. Organisation of the Research Report
The report is divided into nine chapters. Chapter One introduces the topic and the methodological approaches, whereas Chapter Two discusses the biophysical and socio-economic conditions in Ethiopia. Chapter Three reviews the work of FBOs in Ethiopia. Chapter Four presents the empirical results of the survey with EKHC decision makers. Chapters Five to Eight present the four case study projects. The last chapter presents conclusions and the way forward.
Fig. 1.1: Location of management offices of case study projects
2. Ethiopia: Biophysical and Socio-economic Conditions
2.1. The Biophysical Environment
Physiographic features
Ethiopia is among the largest countries in Africa, both in terms of geographic area and population. The land area covers 1,127,127 km2 (MoFED, 2002).
Ethiopia is of great geographic diversity with high and rugged mountains, pla- teaus and deep gorges incised by river valleys and rolling plains. Altitude varies from as low as 120 m below sea level at the Dallol depression to as high as 4,620 m above sea level in the Semien Mountains at Ras Dashen Peak. The highlands, with altitudes ranging from 1500 m to 3500 m, accommodate 88 per cent of the human population, 75 per cent of the livestock population and 95 per cent of the total cultivated land (EEA, 2005). In total, the Ethiopian highlands account for about half of all the highlands in Africa (Hurni, 1988, quoted in EEA, 2005).
Climatic conditions
Climatic conditions determine land use patterns, agricultural productivity and food security. With few exceptions, most parts of the western, central, southern and eastern highlands receive high and stable rainfall. Places such as Kaffa, Illubabor, Sidamo, Arsi-Bale highlands, parts of East Gojjam and parts of the Gamo highlands are known to receive mean annual rainfall of 2000 mm. In the north-eastern highlands and south-eastern lowlands, rainfall is generally much lower and more variable. On the whole, Ethiopia receives one of the highest levels of rainfall in Eastern Africa. The national data of rainfall documented over four decades indicates that, on average, the country receives rainfall above 1000 mm annually. However, the amount fluctuates from year to year. This fluctuation has been very frequent in recent years, mainly after the mid 1980s, implying an increasingly serious challenge to agriculture which is predominantly dependent on rainfall. Drought has been frequent as a result of late onset, abnormal dis- tribution and early cessation of rainfall. Such a trend in the distribution of rainfall has serious implications for measures used to improve food security.
Primary forest cover
It has been a common practice to cite the alarming rate at which the primary forest of Ethiopia has been diminished over the last hundred years or so (Stellmacher, 2007a). Although there are some disagreements on the tempo and causes of deforestation that has taken place in the country, the diverse reports seem to agree that the remaining primary forest cover of the country covers not more than 3 per cent of the countries’ area (Stellmacher, 2007b:519). In 2000, EarthTrends estimated that Ethiopia had 4,344 million hectares of primary forest area, which was 4 per cent (Gatzweiler, 2007). If the current rate of deforestation continued unabated, the report stated, it was feared that the “country [would]
lose its last high forest tree within about 27 years” (Gatzweiler, 2007:4). There are strong linkages between deforestation and food insecurity. Smallholder farmers which are exposed to food insecurity have low time preference rates which often forces them to convert primary forests into agricultural land (Gatzweiler, 2007).
2.2. Socio-economic Environment
Demographic characteristics
Ethiopia’s total population was estimated 73.9 million in 2007, the second largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Out of the totalpopulation of the country, only 16.2 per cent live in urban areas. According to the Central Statistical Authority (CSA) projection (medium variant), the total population is estimated to reach over 130 million by 2025. The gross population density in 2000 was 59 persons per km2, with a marked concentration in the highlands. Nearly half of the population live at altitudes of 2,200 m above sea level or higher, while only 11 per cent live at altitudes below 1,400 m. The remaining 40 per cent live in areas with an altitude ranging from 1,400 m to 2,200 m above sea level (Assefa Hailemariam, 2003).
The Ethiopian population is young. The median age is less than 18 years.
Children under the age of 15 years constitute about 44 per cent, those aged 60 years and over make up less than 5 per cent, while the working age population con- stitutes about 52 per cent. Fertility increased in the 1980s and early 1990s from about 5.2 children per woman in 1970 to 7.5 in 1984, and further to 7.7 children per woman in 1990. In 1994, however, this figure began to decline, and in 2000 the total fertility rate was 5.9 children per woman (Assefa Hailemariam, 2003).
Dominant Christian denominations in Ethiopia
The most recent census reveals that the Ethiopian Coptic Orthodox Church accounts for 43.5 per cent of the total population, followed by Islam with 33.9 per cent (Population Census Commission, 2008:96). The Ethiopian Coptic Orthodox Church is numerically the largest of the five non-Chalcedonian Eastern Churches:
the Coptic, the Ethiopian, the Syrian, the Indian, and the Armenian (Getnet Ta- mene, 1998). The form of Christianity, which the Ethiopian Orthodox Church represents, dates back at least to the fourth century AD and is still exerting a powerful influence on the lives of millions. Though the Church received the spi- ritual and theological traditions of the Orthodox Church from its earliest days, she has been indigenized and has made the heritage which is her own and even developed it in aunique way against the cultural and social background of Ethiopia (Getnet Tamene, 1998). The Protestant and Evangelical churches make up the second most important Christian denomination in the country, accounting for 18.6 per cent of the total population, whereas Catholic churches account for only 0.7 per cent (Population Census Commission, 2008:96).
Recent socio-political developments
The last four decades have seen tremendous dynamics in the political landscape of the country, which have resulted in frequent changes in the social and eco- nomic structures. In 1974, the Emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown by a military government, which became known as the Dergue (Stellmacher, 2007b).
During the 1980s, civil war intensified, especially in the north of the country, and caused enormous hardships. In general, Ethiopia remained a highly centralised country both during the Emperor’s regime and the Dergue’s tenure.
The Dergue were brought down in 1991 by a rebel group from Tigray, since when a number of reforms have been implemented including the decentral- isation of decision making to the newly established regions. Currently, the country has nine administrative regions and two city administrations. These are Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromiya, Somali, Benishangul-Gumuz, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR), Gambela, Harari, Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. Four of these regions (Tigray, Amhara, Oromiya and SNNP) contain more than 90 per cent of the rural population (Dercon, 1999).
By 1988, the worsening economic conditions and pressure for change forced the then government to make modest economic reforms (Dercon, 1999). Early measures included the freeze on land reform, the abolition of the quota system and the removal of some of the restrictions on the movement of food across regions. After the fall of the Dergue, economic reforms continued. In 1992, a large devaluation took place and gradually many restrictions on the private and banking sectors were removed. Substantial international trade liberalisation was also implemented. In addition, input marketing was liberalised and extension activities reformed (see details on the Ethiopian economy in the succeeding section).
There is a longstanding debate as to the effect of land tenure on food security.
The more dominant view says that state ownership of land in Ethiopia has negative effects on food security by stifling farmers’ initiatives to adopt pro-
Socio-economic Environment 33
ductivity-enhancing land improvement practices (IDCoF, 2002). Others dismiss such a conclusion as unfounded. Hussien Jemma (2001) argues that the current advocacy of privatising rural land in Ethiopia is “invalid for the simple reason that it failed to produce sufficient empirical evidence, which would otherwise show that it is imperative to replace existing public ownership with private tenure” (Hussien Jemma, 2001:73). According to Hussien’s study, farmers from the Gedeo zone of SNNPR reported that they “have never felt insecure of their holding ever since the Land Reform Proclamation of the mid-1970s. No one has threaded or attempted either to redistribute land or displace them from their possessions. Redistribution is done only within a household to accommodate the young members that seek farmland” (Hussien Jemma, 2001:55).
In relation to forest resources, the 1994 Proclamation (No. 94/1994) made a distinction between the public and private ownership of forests, declared natural forests as state-owned and allowed planted forests to be owned privately. This proclamation also prohibits using or harvesting trees, settling, grazing, hunting or keeping beehives in the state forest. More recently, more participatory ap- proaches to forest ownership and management (co-management approaches, participatory forest management) have been introduced with the help of inter- national donor agencies. According to the new approach, forest user groups have been established and exclusive rights for forest use granted to the members of the group (Gatzweiler, 2007; Stellmacher, 2007a; Stellmacher and Nolten, 2010).
The Ethiopian economy in brief
The Ethiopian economy depends heavily on the agricultural sector, which contributes 55 per cent of the GDP of the country (ICDoF, 2002; EEA, 2005). The agricultural sector is dominated by subsistence farmers who produce largely for their own consumption and contribute very little to the market. In the plough- based cereal system,teff, wheat, maize and sorghum are grown as staples, mixed with livestock keeping. The average land holding is about 2 ha per household in these areas, and population density is about 90 persons per km2(FAO, 1986;
quoted in EEA, 2005). In contrast, the hoe-based coffee-enset-livestock sub- system is characterised by high population density (200–350 persons per km2) with an average holding of 0.5 ha (for a family of 8 persons) where intensive mixed faming is practiced. Some areas such as Kedida GamellaWeredain the Kembata Tembaro zone are known to have a population density that exceeds 500 persons per km2.
Performance of the Ethiopian agriculture
The performance of the Ethiopian agriculture sector is low by any standard.
Land and labour productivity are among the lowest in the world. Between 1992 / 93 and 2002/03, agricultural growth averaged about 1.5 per cent per year, with
sharp variations in between, increasing up to 15 per cent in a particularly good year and declining by as much as 12 per cent in a drought year like 2002/03 (ICDoF, 2002; EEA, 2005). During the five-year period covering 1999 /2000 to 2003/2004, earnings per agricultural person and farm household remained largely constant (EEA, 2005).
Agriculture’s poor performance is associated highly with frequent droughts.
At present, drought is considered the single most important climate-related natural hazard in Ethiopia (Abebe Tadege, 2008). Agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate variability and change. As rain-fed agriculture is widely practiced in the country, variations in agricultural production (yield) closely follow variations in rainfall. Despite pressing needs for irrigation, Ethiopia irrigates only 3–5 per cent of its farmland from the potential 3.7 million ha of irrigable land (EEA, 2005).
Information on per capita income over the past four decades also indicates that the total performance of the Ethiopian agriculture sector is deteriorating.
From 1953 to 1995, the per capita income in agriculture declined by over 45 per cent; researchers hence strongly argue for transforming the sector. It is re- grettable that “no fundamental change of a desired magnitude could be brought about after four to five decades of agricultural research and extension pro- gramme activities” (EEA, 2005:147–148).
Government revenue from agricultural income tax has varied in recent years, excluding the 2002/03 drought year, between 100 and 138 million Birr, which is only 10 to 13 Birr per agricultural household (EEA, 2005). Agricultural export tax has been removed since 2002 to encourage export trade. According to EEA (2005), agriculture’s contribution to government direct revenue in the past years has been on average only 3 per cent, which is too little and shows how the sector is weak in terms of surplus generation. Indirect surplus extraction from agri- culture in terms of the supply of cheap food is also low.
2.3. Developments in the Educational Sector
The development of the education sector in Ethiopia is still in its infancy. On the eve of the ongoing educational reform process, which began in 1994 (following the endorsement of the New Education and Training Policy), enrolment in primary education stood at about 2.81 million (Ethiopian National Agency for UNESCO, 2001). This included over-age pupils, which amounted to 34 per cent of the school-age population at the time. Likewise, the enrolment ratio at sec- ondary level stood at about 15 per cent and at the third level 1 per cent. Com- pared to African countries, Ethiopia’s enrolment ratios have fared among the
Developments in the Educational Sector 35
lowest in primary education. Similarly, enrolment at all levels of education is male biased, the tertiary level being the worst in this regard.
One should also emphasise here that the last couple of years have seen sig- nificant improvements in enrolment at all levels. It is believed that consecutive Education Sector Development Programmes (ESDPs) have contributed a great deal to this success (MoFED, 2006). The ESDP is a comprehensive intervention package developed by the Ethiopian government to mobilise national and inter- national efforts to boost the performance of the system, in particular the primary education sub-sector. The government launched a twenty-year education sector indicative plan in a bid to implement the 1994 National Education and Training Policy. The first, second and third five-year plans (ESDP I, ESDP II and ESDP III) had already been implemented. During the ESDP I and ESDP II implementation period, noteworthy progress was made with regard to access and equity. ESDP III, on the other hand, was aimed at achieving the MDGs and meeting the objectives of the National Development Plan by supplying a qualified and fully trained work- force with the necessary quantity and quality at all levels.
The specific objectives of the ESDP III include (MoFED, 2006):
- ensuring education and training quality and relevance, - lowering educational inefficiency,
- preventing HIV /AIDS,
- increasing participation in education and training and ensuring equity, and - increasing the participation of stakeholders.
Furthermore, specific strategies had been designed to achieve the afore- mentioned objectives of ESDP III (MoFED, 2006). These included:
- strengthening community and NGO participation in the sector,
- using alternative methods to implement the programme in low cost school construction (these include the construction of low-cost classrooms and using them for first-cycle primary education),
- expanding primary education coverage, increasing the role of non-formal education and other alternatives,
- designing and implementing policies that strengthen communities’ partic- ipation in the administration and financing of schools,
- building the capacity of institutions, providing training for school managers, developing and implementing logistic support systems,
- giving additional responsibility forworedas/districts to administer primary and secondary schools,
- improving ethical values of teachers beyond academic qualifications, - providing support to increase women’s educational participation and to help
children that have special educational needs.
2.4. Food Insecurity in Ethiopia
Famine and food insecurity are by no means new events in Ethiopia. Never- theless, the country has experienced increasingly more intensified problems concerning food shortages over the past four decades. For the period between 1973/74 to 2000/01, it is estimated that more than two million people per year (except in 1978/79) face food shortages of different magnitudes (Table 2.1). An attempt has been made to show the temporal pattern of food shortage by cal- culating the difference between the consecutive half-decades (the latter half- decade minus the earlier). The computation was made based on the same data indicated in Table 2.1. With four to seven million people affected every year, the first half of the 1990s stood first (Table 2.2), whereas the second half of the 1970s saw fewer numbers of people affected. There is, however, no traceable general trend in the number of people affected by food shortages.
Table 2.1: Population affected by food shortages: 1973/74–2000/01 Half-
decade Year People affected
(million) Half-
decade Year People affected (million)
1973/73 3.0
III 1987/88 2.1
1974/75 2.7 1988/89 No Info.
I
1975/76 No Info. 1989/90 3.4
1976/77 No Info.
IV
1990/91 7.2
1977/78 2.7 1991/92 7.9
1978/79 1.0 1992/93 5.0
1979/80 3.7 1993/94 6.7
II
1980/81 3.3 1994/95 4.0
1981/82 4.2
V 1995/96 2.8
1982/83 4.0 1996/97 3.4
1983/84 5.0 1997/98 4.1
1984/85 7.9 1998/99 5.4
1985/86 6.9 1999/00 2.6
1986/87 2.5 2000/01 7.7
Source: Based on data from DPPC (Quoted in Fassil G. Kiros, 2005:78)
Food Insecurity in Ethiopia 37
Table 2.2: Average number of people affected over the last two-and-a-half decades
Half-decade People affected per year
on average (millions) Difference between consecutive half-decades
I. Second half of 70s 2.47 –
II. First half of 80s 4.88 +2.41
III. Second half of 80s 3.73 -1.15
IV. First half of 90s 6.16 +2.43
V. Second half of 90s 3.66 -2.50
Source: Computed by the authors based on data indicated in Table 2.2
A more recent study shows that an average of about six million people were food insecure between 1996 and 2006 (EEA, 2008). The lowest number was known to be 2.69 million in 1996, while the highest was 12.2 million in 2003.
Excessive dependence on food aid
It is widely believed that more than half of Ethiopia’s population has no access to the minimum nutritional requirement of 2100 kcal/person/day (IDCoF, 2002).
Food aid from abroad plays a significant role in reducing the deficit. Ethiopia, according to EEA, has been a recipient of “food aid and other humanitarian assistance over many decades, to such an extent that emergency relief has be- come institutionalized within governmental structures and donor agency country programmes” (EEA, 2008:86). Indeed, there were times when food aid amounted to one-quarter of the total food grain production in the country (see Table 2.3).Table 2.3 shows that food aid contributed for 26 and 17 per cent of the total food demand of the country in 1985 and 1986, respectively. For almost half of the time (eight out of the seventeen years), food aid has covered more than ten per cent of the national food demand.
Table 2.3: Domestic production and food aid in Ethiopia
Year Aid (000’s tonnes) Production (000’s tonnes) Proportion of aid
1985 1,272 4,855 26.2
1986 926 5,404 17.1
1987 277 6,684 4.1
1988 1,096 6,902 15.9
1989 461 6,676 6.9
1990 657 6,579 10.0
1991 925 7,078 12.0
1992 840 7,055 11.9
1993 5,198 7,619 6.8
1994 980 6,945 14.1
1995 683 7,493 9.1
1996 334 10,328 3.2
1997 428 10,167 4.2
1998 615 8,036 7.7
1999 776 8,552 9.1
2000 1,380 8,890 15.5
2001 639 10,616 6.0
Source: Tassew Woldehanna, 2004:40
A largely chronic problem
Food insecurity in Ethiopia is predominantly chronic in nature, as many households cannot meet their food needs in any given year, regardless of climatic vagaries or other external shocks. Fassil G. Kiros (2005:16 –17) describes chronic food shortage as a condition which inflicts damage, slowly sapping human energy and depleting the capacity to produce – and thereby increasing vulnerability to famine. Chronic food shortages, over extended periods of time due to malnutrition, ill-health and declining agricultural productivity, also hamper long-term development. Attempts have also been made to classify households in Ethiopia as living under chronic or transitory food insecurity (Table 2.4).
Food Insecurity in Ethiopia 39
Table 2.4: Classification of food-insecure households in Ethiopia
Rural Urban Others
Chronic
- Resource-poor households - Landless or land-
scarce - Ox-less
- Poor pastoralists - Female-headed
households - Elderly - Disabled
- Poor non-agricultural households
- New settlers
- Low income house- holds employed in the informal sector - Groups outside the
labour market: elderly, disabled, some female- headed households
- Refugees - Displaced
people - Ex-soldiers
Transitory - Resource-poor households vulner- able to shocks espe- cially, but not only drought
- Pastoralists - Others vulnerable to
economic shocks (e.g. in low potential areas)
- Urban poor vulnerable to economic shocks, especially those caus- ing food price rises
- Groups affected by temporary civil unrest
Source: Development Studies Associates, 1998
The above classification has practical significance, i.e. it could guide the se- lection of types of intervention strategies. Households living under the spectre of chronic food insecurity (e.g. landless households in rural areas and low income households in urban areas) need different forms of interventions from those living under transitory food insecurity (e.g. farmers in drought-prone rural areas and urban poor vulnerable to economic shocks). A distinction has, for instance, been made by the then Ethiopian Disaster Prevention and Prepared- ness Commission between the strategies proposed against chronic (predictable) and acute (unpredictable) food insecurity: “… a long-term development and safety net is meant for chronic and emergency preparedness and response for the acute food insecurity” (DPPC, 2004:24). The next section presents the main causes of food insecurity (both chronic and transitory) in Ethiopia.
2.4.1. Causes of Food Insecurity
There are diverse views on the causes of food insecurity in Ethiopia. Some tend to focus on natural conditions such as bad climate or poor soil, while others see the main problems in socio-economic factors and government polices. Most scholars, nevertheless, identify a combination of many different factors as un- derlying reasons. Fassil G. Kiros (2005) proposes a framework of analysis of famine causation and the appropriate responses (Fig. 2.1). He argues that “no people would fall victim to famine unless they are predisposed to such an eventuality” (Fassil G. Kiros, 2005:65).
The nature of the specific factors operating within each category can vary significantly depending on the political, economic, social and ecological con- ditions and circumstances characteristic of a particular country or region (Fassil G. Kiros, 2005). The succeeding paragraphs give a brief account of some of the factors that contribute to food insecurity and famine in Ethiopia.
Droughts
The Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC) identifies drought-prone areas at national level using long-term meteorological data. Al- though almost the whole country is designated drought-prone, drought hazard has more negative impacts in northern and eastern Ethiopia, as well as in parts of the Rift Valley lowlands, than in other parts of the country. Many figures suggest that both the frequency and severity of droughts increased in Ethiopia in the last decades (Abebe, 2008; Haakansson, 2009). Parts of the country have, for in- stance, experienced droughts every year in the last decade, as opposed to every two to four years during the previous decades (Tassew Woldehanna, 2004).
Triggering factors – Natural – Human-driven
Predisposing factors – Poverty
– Underdevelopment – Institutional, political and social systems
Aggravating factors – National policies – International policies
Fig. 2.1: Framework for analysis of famine causation and the appropriate responses (Source:
Fassil G. Kiros, 2005:66)
Food Insecurity in Ethiopia 41
Historical factors
As discussed in Chapter One, some scholars associate persistent poverty and food insecurity in Ethiopia with the system of landownership. This problem has prevailed during past regimes and is not yet fully resolved. During the imperial regime, land was mostly owned by absentee landlords. The land governance system thus “went far beyond a voluntary land-lease agreement and rather re- semble[d] the extractive serfdom of the European Dark Ages” (Stellmacher, 2007b:524). Farmers had no incentive to use and manage land and other re- sources in a sustainable way, since land-use rights were frequently withdrawn without compensation.
Policies pursued by the subsequent regimes, namely the Dergue and EPRDF, are often argued to be essentially similar (land and the resources thereon are constituted to be under state ownership). It is well known that all rural and forest land was nationalised in 1975 by the socialist regime. The current government, led by the EPRDF, “also adopted a constitution in 1995 in which forests (land and other natural resources) [were] declared exclusive state property” (Gatzweiler, 2007). Some scholars argue that such “ideologically driven land policy” has stifled farmers’ initiatives to adopt productivity-enhancing land improvement practices and induced the fragmentation of land holdings (IDCoF, 2002:xiii).
Inefficient and ineffective production systems and limited access to inputs
Agricultural production systems in Ethiopia have always been precarious. Even under ‘normal’ conditions, the per capita production in Ethiopia has never been much higher than subsistence level. This point was more extensively explored by Mesfin Wolde-Mariam (1984) in his famous book ‘Vulnerability to Famine.’ He makes the socio-economic and political system fully accountable for rural vul- nerability to famine:
A system in which the majority of peasants are totally dependent on the physical environment and on their backward methods of production, and in which the socio- economic and political forces persist in incapacitating the productive potential of peasants by incessant oppression and exploitation is a condition for vulnerability to famine (Mesfin Wolde-Mariam, 1984:169).
The low productivity can be attributed to a lack of agricultural technologies and inputs such as improved seeds, fertilizers, or pesticides, and a lack of access to formal credit and banking services which makes peasants dependent on pro- hibitive lending rates of private money lenders.
